Porzingis tears ACL as Antetokounmpo, Bucks beat Knicks

NEW YORK (AP) Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 23 points, jumping over Tim Hardaway Jr. for one high-flying slam, and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the New York Knicks 103-89 on Tuesday night after Kristaps Porzingis tore his left ACL.

Porzingis was injured after crashing to the ground following a successful dunk with 8:46 left in the second quarter. He was taken for an MRI exam that revealed the injury.

Eric Bledsoe also had 23 points and Khris Middleton added 20 for the Bucks, who are a season-high seven games over .500

Antetokounmpo didn’t appear bothered by a right ankle injury sustained Sunday, particularly when he leaped to catch a lob pass on a fast break and jumped over the 6-foot-6 Hardaway to slam it down.

The Cavaliers scored 43 points in the first quarter, but then went almost 6 1/2 minutes without scoring in the fourth and lost for the 14th time in 21 games. They played the second half without coach Tyronn Lue, who went to the locker room in the second quarter with what the team said was an illness.

The Magic made their first 10 shots of the second half and won consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 8-10.

LeBron James had 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the Cavaliers, but did not have a rebound or an assist in a foul-plagued second half.

THUNDER 125, WARRIORS 105

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – Russell Westbrook had 34 points, nine rebounds and nine assists to get the better of old buddy and teammate Kevin Durant, Paul George scored 38 points, and Oklahoma City embarrassed defending champion Golden State to snap a four-game losing streak.

Durant scored 33 points but didn’t get as much help from the cold-shooting Splash Brothers of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, who added 21 and 12 points, respectively. They combined to go 11 of 27 from the floor and 4 for 15 on 3-pointers as the Warriors lost for the third time in four games. They lost their tempers, too – as in five technicals total.

Draymond Green was ejected with 8:13 remaining after a second technical when he argued with the officials.

Carmelo Anthony sprained his right ankle early in the game, but Oklahoma City never slowed down in ending a seven-game skid at Oracle Arena with its first win on the Warriors’ home floor since a 116-97 victory on April 11, 2013.

DeMar DeRozan added 15 points, Delon Wright had 14 and Fred VanVleet 10 as Toronto won its fifth straight home meeting over Boston, closing to within a game of the conference-leading Celtics.

Kyrie Irving returned after missing the previous three games because of a bruised right quad to score 17 points in 22 minutes.

Reserve forward Marcus Morris also returned for Boston after sitting out two games because of a bruised left hip but the Celtics suffered their second-worst defeat of the season. Boston’s only bigger loss was a 23-point defeat at Chicago on Dec. 11.

ROCKETS 123, NETS 113

NEW YORK (AP) – James Harden scored 36 points, surpassing 15,000 for his career, and Houston beat Brooklyn for its fifth straight victory.

Chris Paul added 25 points for the Rockets, who kept right on rolling in their first game since their nationally televised romp in Cleveland on Saturday.

Both teams made 16 3-pointers in an entertaining shootout between Mike D’Antoni’s Rockets and the Nets of Kenny Atkinson, who assisted D’Antoni in New York and has the Nets trying to do some of the things Houston does on offense.

But it’s one thing to be like the Rockets and another to beat them. Houston simply went to another gear when Brooklyn took the lead late in the third quarter and never stopped scoring long enough in the fourth to let the Nets get too close.

DeMarre Carroll scored 21 points for the Nets and Spencer Dinwiddie added 18 points and nine assists. Brooklyn has lost seven of its last eight.

76ERS 115, WIZARDS 102

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Joel Embiid had 27 points and 12 rebounds, and the 76ers helped the city of Philadelphia continue to celebrate by leading from start to finish in a victory over Washington.

Dario Saric added 20 points and J.J. Redick had 18 for the 76ers, who snapped Washington’s five-game winning streak while playing in front of a raucous crowd still in a tizzy over the Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots.

Bradley Beal scored 30 points for the Wizards, who lost their first game since fellow All-Star John Wall had arthroscopic surgery on his troublesome left knee.